World Press Photo exhibition returns to Parliament in summer

15/06/2012

The very best of international photojournalism returns to the Scottish Parliament in July when the World Press Photo (WPP) winners will be on display in the Main Hall. Award winning photographer Ilvy Njiokiktjien will also give a free public lecture about her work.

Edinburgh is the first UK venue for the travelling exhibition which showcases the winning entries in all nine themed categories. From the overall WPP winning photo featuring a Yemeni mother in burqa cradling her injured son, to the iron man world championships, child brides and a cliff-climbing polar bear, WPP captures world conflict, sport, nature and daily life in a powerful exhibition.

“The World Press Photo exhibition shines a light on people and events across the globe capturing, through striking images, how headline news has affected the lives of ordinary people.

“Many of the images deal with war and conflict and are a powerful reminder of how fortunate we are in Scotland where debate relies on words not weapons.

“The exhibition also reminds us of the risks taken by photojournalists to capture these images. The exhibition features the work of French photographer Rémi Ochlik, whose series on the conflict in Libya won the General News category. He was killed earlier this year when a shell hit the building where he and other journalists were working in Homs, Syria.”

The World Press Photo exhibition will be on display in Parliament’s Main Hall from Thursday 5 July to Saturday July 28, Open Late on Thursdays. Entrance is free.

Award winning photographer’s lecture

Award winning photographer Ilvy Njiokiktjien will also give a free public lecture about her work at 4.30pm on Wednesday 4 July at The Scottish Parliament.

Ilvy won two awards at WPP 2012. She was awarded first prize in the Issue Reporting Multi-media contest with Afrikaner Blood and second prize in the Singles in Contemporary Issues, also for Afrikaner Blood.

The project is based on a Kommandokorps training camp in Carolina, South Africa run by self-proclaimed ‘Colonel’ Franz Joosie who served with the South African Defence Force under the old apartheid regime. He organises camps during summer holidays for young white teenagers, teaching them how to combat a perceived black enemy.

Background

Now in its 55th year, the annual World Press Photo Contest is the world’s leading international contest for photojournalists, setting the standard for the profession. The judging is conducted at the World Press Photo office, in The Netherlands.

The contest draws entries by professional press photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographers from across the world, with 5,247 photographers from 124 countries participating this year with 101,254 pictures submitted by the mid-January deadline.